DES MOINES — An activist group in Des Moines is claiming nearly 500 letters filed with the Iowa Utilities Board in support of the Bakken crude oil pipeline have come from outside of Iowa.
According to Iowa a spokesperson for Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, the letters filed Aug. 25 predominately originated from California, New York, Indiana and Canada. Iowa CCI member Nathan Malchowski said Tuesday that 90 percent of the letters came from a state other than Iowa.
“Iowans already know that this proposal is being pushed by big oil interests at our expense,” Malachowski said.. “These letters prove that pro-pipeline lobbyists will go to no ends to attempt to justify their flawed case in favor of the Bakken Pipeline and more big oil profits.”
The 1,134-mile, 30-inch diameter oil pipeline, proposed by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, would carry 570,000 barrels of crude oil per day. If approved by the IUB, the Iowa segment will be part of a connecting line between the North Dakota Bakken crude oil fields with a hub in Patoka, Ill., leading to gulf coast refineries. A 34-mile portion of the pipeline is slated to run through Jasper County.
The letters found on the IUB’s website are addressed by LiUNA Groups 9-16, which is the Labor’s Inter nation Union of North America. The labor unions have come out in heavy support of the Bakken Pipeline.
Contact Mike Mendenhall at mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com